This pairs competition was lackluster overall. No Denney/Coughlin and no chance to see Yankowskas/Reagan. I'm really missing Evora/Ladwig (no insult intended to Lindsay Davis), and if Marley/Brubaker were here, I'd bet that could have challenged for that gold medal. Aaaaaargh. At least we have two new pairs that seem to be gelling fast and showing promise (S/K and Z/B). I've just about given up on Donlan/Speroff, much as I think their skating is pretty.

Yes, there is no refinement or elegance in US pairs skating. It's like none of them have ever attended a ballet class in their life, save Caitlin Yankowskas.

Come on, Gretchen Donlan is ballerina personified. Her and Andrew (and indeed all the U.S. pairs that were on the ice today) just need to stay together and develop their partnerships. D/S especially just need to work more intensively on their technical skills and on building confidence together, as they already have artistry, line and musicality in spades. And, Chris and Alexa have enormous potential. As a new team, they came out and performed great in the fp, despite some mistakes in their sp. Felicia and Nate also stepped it up this year, although they are not one of my favorite teams -- still they came out with confidence and energy determined to do their best. Lindsay and Mark, another newly paired team had a lovely and determined skate. Why dump on these pairs?

If Caitlin Yankowskas and her partner had been together long enough, had not suffered an injury, and were fully prepared, then maybe they would have been able to compete here. We don't know. Forming a new partnership is not easy. I wish them the best. And I also wish people would stop acting as if Caitlin Y is some kind of savior or martyr of U.S. pairs figure skating. It's sad that she lost her partner (John who teamed up with Caydee) and that we won't be able to see how far Caitlin and John could have climbed if they'd stayed together. The lesson of such unfortunate break-ups is a cautionary one, and should motivate up-and-coming pairs to stick together through thick and thin.

Please please stop putting down U.S. pairs teams. Understand what it takes, and what it means to build to reach a higher level. Champions do not come out of nowhere. Marissa and Simon are a perfect case in point. They are the only U.S. pairs team currently on the eligible level to have been together for a long time: 7 years -- that makes a huge difference in a partnership. Despite their tightness due to nerves in the fp, Simon and Marissa didn't allow their nerves and Simon's miscue on the sbs spin to hold them back. They held it together and they are clearly the class of this field, in the absence of Caydee and John (and unfortunately the break-up of Rockne and Mary Beth).